When an Australian law student was unintentionally granted large overdraft privileges due to a banking glitch, he did what he believed anyone in his situation would do: spend, spend, spend.
Luke Moore spent $1.5 million on sports cars, boats, luxury vacations, and strippers, translating to $2.01 million in Australian currency. But the law eventually caught up with him, and he was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding the St. George Bank.
He is now free after only five months in prison, thanks to a judgment by the Supreme Court of New South Wales that he did nothing misleading.
“It is clear that Mr. Moore acted not only inexcusably, but also dishonestly. He continued to borrow and spend cash while knowing he had no realistic chance of repaying them and being aware that the bank’s systems had been tampered with,” the court stated in its judgment.
“There is nothing to show… that Mr. Moore represented to anyone that his account with St. George was not overdrawn,” the court concluded. Even if he had, St. George was always aware of the truth of the situation, which was that it had lent him a considerable sum of money.”
“I’m happy with the verdict, mate,” Moore, 29, told The Huffington Post. I’ve had my time in the spotlight. I’ve lived the high life for a while now, and I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame. Now all I want to do is focus on my studies, live a ‘regular life,’ and do what I can to improve the world.”
Moore stumbled onto his good fortune in 2010 when he opened a new bank account. He was able to overdraw his assets and spend up to $1.5 million due to a computer fault.
He put the money toward his mortgage and insurance payments. He did, however, eventually turn his attention to the playboy lifestyle.
He is currently bankrupt. He sold all of his valuable possessions and returned to the bank what he could. He’s back in Goulburn, New South Wales, with his mother, training to be a criminal lawyer.
He doesn’t miss the high life, except for the “cocaine, the strippers, and fast vehicles,” he joked to the Australian Daily Telegraph.
“I’ve learned that money doesn’t buy everything,” he said, “but it was fantastic while it lasted.”